Joyous Spring was born to a more experienced than typical Water Child and a young mortal man, a couple that had built a life together despite the difficulties to be overcome in such a union, within a home near the central coast of the nation of Port Calin. She grew up on the small farm they'd managed to make their own, a generally idyllic if somewhat isolated life, not lacking for love from either of her parents, her family a stable and loving one, despite her mother's supernatural nature. Each taught her what they knew best, from martial arts and self-defense from the time she could stand on her own, to taking care of the small flock of sheep her father cared for, from swimming like a fish to the many little tasks that make up a farmer's daily tasks, and later, to the skills required to investigate and deduce, to seek out the truth.

On the rare occasions that the family would head into the local village for festivals, she was received as a curiosity by other children her age, but one to be watched from a distance. More so when she stopped aging before her ninth birthday, her hair having refused to grow any longer than her mother's years earlier, as she reached an age and appearance that rendered her a perfect mirror image of her mother to all the human senses, the only difference between them being their eyes (her mother's black, her own a glacial spring's blue) and her mother's constant dampness, as part of her Water Child nature. This would render her a bit more shy around the villagers, but when her mother began to take her along on trips away from home, accompanying her on her investigations of the rich and noble houses of the land, she quite enjoyed traveling, seeing new places and people that had no knowledge of her to weight their perceptions. Her mother commissioned and gifted her with her knife between their first and second trips, the work of an esteemed bladesmith and artisan; while she was taught to fight without weapons, she's never let it stray far from her hand since then.

Unfortunately, that wonderful life was shattered when her mother was murdered on their final trip together when she was thirteen, struck down without mercy or remorse by a summoned Thunderbird assassin, with Joyous Spring laid low in the initial attack, and unable to do anything but watch through a haze of pain as the air elemental brutally slew her water elemental mother, laughing and roaring in victory as it did so. It approached her immediately afterward, seemingly considering whether to include this other target for free, but merely shook its head and tsked, making it very clear to her that she wasn't worth the effort, and wouldn't provide the glory to make even raising its, his, club again of any interest to him. And then he lifted off into the air and was gone again, leaving her to eventually pick up what few possessions remained in the small puddle of water that was once her mother, and make her way home, alone.

Her father was crushed by the loss of his beloved wife, retreating into drink and depression and neglecting his duties within their household, as well as his duties to help his daughter deal with her own loss. She did her best to keep their home and livelihood from falling apart entirely, but it was a monumental task for a teenager not receiving any help from her parent, and she merely managed to make it all collapse and degrade more slowly. Then, after a year of her father having seemingly vanished from her life, despite his presence in the house, he seemed to slowly return to her, even if he was still too wounded in soul to return to his chores. Unfortunately, while he did begin paying her attention once more, it was not the sort of attention that a father should be paying his daughter. He moved slowly in his inappropriate advances, leaving her feeling confused and ashamed without the certainty of his wrongness to allow her to react decisively...until, one day, he went too far, and she left him weeping on the floor, alone, as she stepped out into the night with little more than the clothes on her back and her knife in her hand, her own tears lost in the rain.

Since then, Joyous Spring hasn't stopped traveling, pausing only long enough to work as a hired hand here and there to earn some money, whether on a farm, within a body of water, lending assistance with mending or building, or in one case, working as a waitress for a month in a teahouse. It can be somewhat difficult to convince people that she's qualified or capable of doing the work, but given a chance, she soon demonstrates that there's more to her than first glance reveals. As has proven to be the case for more than one bandit, pirate, or thug, as well, though she dislikes hurting others, and tends to avoid conflict when she can. She's generally a friendly, pleasant young woman, who has learned to love travelling once again, even if she does it alone, now, as she does most things, avoiding growing too close to any one person. When she sees others in trouble, unable to defend themselves from those stronger than them, her mother's lessons on justice and responsibility will ring in her ears...sometimes, she acknowledges them, and sometimes, she just bows her head and minds her own business...after all, she's just one girl, right?

Joyous Spring would appear to be a young girl of noble Port Calinese heritage, between the ages of 8 and 9, standing roughly 4 feet and 1 inch tall, with a slim build, pale skin and delicate features, short black hair, and blue eyes, the color of a pure mountain spring.

She's generally dressed in a well-traveled (and repaired) multicolored (primary body white, with red, blue, green, and yellow patterns sweeping across it) yukata, cut a bit shorter than usual to allow for more freedom of movement, tied with a navy blue obi around her waist. A pair of flat-bottomed straw and twine sandals cover (the bottom of) her feet, while a gently sloping sugegasa is usually found perched atop her head, shading it from sun, rain, and snow alike. A couple of small pouches containing a bit of food, money, and a handful of other small items are tucked away within her clothing, as is a beautifully lacquered kaiken-styled knife, the near-seamless hilt and scabbard a bright blue that matches her eyes perfectly.

By spending 5 motes of essence or 1 temporary Willpower, she may enhance her mortal senses to perceive all sanctum entrances and immaterial spirits around her for one scene.
She may spend 1 temporary Willpower to regain 6 motes of essence through force of will alone. This power may only be used once per scene.

Positive Mutations
Child of the Waters: May hold her breath for Stamina x 30 Minutes at a time before needing to surface and take at least a few deep breaths (Stamina + Resistance to hold it longer, +10 minutes per success). Moves at the same speed while swimming as she does on land. Suffers no penalties for fighting while underwater.
Healing Factor: Heals as an Exalt.
Immortality: Doesn't Age, Limitless Lifespan, Immune to Age-related Effects.
Deceptive Frailty: Appears small and weak regardless of her traits, +1 die to attempts to convince or fool someone into thinking she is as weak and fragile as she looks.
Water Adaptation: May drink or be immersed in salt water without any harm. May hold her breath 4x as long as normal, swim at twice normal speed, and benefits from -1 Difficulty on Swimming-based Athletics rolls.

Negative Mutations
Too Human: Appears more mundane than most God-Blooded would (the only slightly odd thing about her appearance is her eyes, and even they aren't obviously supernatural in origin), but must spend an additional 2 motes of essence when using Charms or Powers.
Unnatural Being: Is treated as if she were a Water Child (using her own traits) when dealing with Wards or Bindings. May react unfavorably to certain environments unwelcoming to a Water Child.

Flaws
Intolerance: Air Elementals: Difficulty 5 Compassion roll to overcome her hatred, suffering a -3 penalty on social actions taken against them (except for Intimidation attempts) on a failed roll. 3 WP to ignore a failed roll.